The Shoah, probably the worst crime against humanity ever committed in the history of the world, originated in Germany. As a result, Germany's relationship to its history, its collective memory, is marked by this breakdown of civilisation. All across the country, memorials of various kinds (e.g. Stolpersteine) remind us of the crimes committed during the National Socialist regime. They admonish us never to forget and never to let something similar happen again – a message that is reinforced by education and awareness-raising efforts.

Memorial sites and centres documenting the Nazi past play a crucial role in civics and history education beyond the clasroom. The activities they offer help in developing critical awareness of history and taking a stand on issues relevant today, such as the value of democracy and the rule of law. Their pedagogical efforts are important in countering discrimination, racism, antisemitism, antigypsyism and right-wing extremism. The Federal Government provides significant, long-term financial support for the work of the memorial sites and documentation centres (Weiterentwicklung der Gedenkstättenkonzeption).

More than seven decades after the end of National Socialist tyranny, fewer and fewer eyewitnesses to history remain who can report on their own experience of the horrors during that time. It is therefore all the more important to keep alive the memory of the crimes and the persecuted, with a culture of remembrance which does not devolve into meaningless rituals and empty phrases, but instead engages the emotions of the public as a whole, especially the younger generation.

The public must become more aware of its special responsibility as a result of the crimes committed in Germany's name, and must strengthen its resolve that this collapse of moral values and these incomprehensible crimes must never be allowed to happen again.

It is important not only to keep alive the memory of Nazi injustice, but also to remember the significant ways in which Jews have contributed to this country. Instead of seeing the Jewish community exclusively as victims as a result of the Shoah, the public should become more aware of the diversity of Jewish life in Germany.

refer to: Initiatives Source: Evan Lang (gettyimages)

Civil-society activities and projects focused on bringing Jews and non-Jews together are also part of a culture of remembrance. The activities of the Deutscher Koordinierungsrat der Gesellschaften für Christlich-Jüdische Zusammenarbeit (DKR, German coordinating council of the societies for Christian-Jewish cooperation) and its member organisations point the way forward. At international level, the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) promotes interfaith dialogue and carries out projects to bring together people of different religious backgrounds. Both organisations have long received support from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community. Further examples include the project of the Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden), "Meet a Jew", which receives funding from the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, encounters between Jews and Muslims as part of the activities of the German Islam Conference (German Islam Conference), and Jewish-Muslim dialogue in the project "Schalom Aleikum", developed by the Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden) and funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration.

Links to some of the many foundations and organisations which offer training, guided tours and workshops can be found on this website. You will also find links to federal programmes, for example those of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and the Federal Agency for Civic Education.